My name isXXXXX am a licensed attorney, and my goal is to provide you with excellent service today.

Yes, since you are moving to be with your wife, if your company is unable to transfer you to a job in your new location, you would be eligible to receive unemployment benefits in California, since you would be considered to have voluntarily quit your job for 'good cause.'

'Good cause' is defined as a reason that would make a reasonable person who wanted to stay employed in the same circumstances also leave his or her job.

From the EDD website:

Since it is the public policy of this State to support the marital relationship, quitting to effect a reconciliation or to preserve family unity will be with good cause provided the facts show the claimant's actions were reasonable under the circumstances existing at the time of the quit.

See here:

http://www.edd.ca.gov/uibdg/Voluntary_Quit_VQ_155.htm

You would be quitting to move with your wife to ensure continued family unity, so that is a well established good cause reason for leaving your job, entitling you to unemployment benefits.

In addition to the website above see the relevant section in its entirety below:

Reconciliation and Family UnitySince it is the public policy of this State to support the marital relationship, quitting to effect a reconciliation or to preserve family unity will be with good cause provided the facts show the claimant's actions were reasonable under the circumstances existing at the time of the quit.

". . .[A] claimant voluntarily leaves work with good cause if there is a need to preserve the family unit. The danger of disintegration of the family unit must be substantial so as to compel the claimant to voluntarily leave his or her work . . . . The fact that a claimant's spouse's reason for forcing the claimant to make a choice may seem unreasonable is not controlling. Rather, the controlling factor is the actual jeopardy to the continued existence of the claimant's family unit. On the other hand, where the nature of the claimant's job is such that a minor inconvenience to the claimant's family life style is created, but there is no danger that the family unit will be substantially disrupted, the claimant does not have good cause for leaving work. The claimant must act as a reasonable person would in deciding to voluntarily leave his or her work."

Title 22, Section 1256-12, Comments provides:

"Subdivision (b) (2) of this section concerns itself with problems of commuting relating to the claimant's existing marital status. The first provision is that a person who leaves his or her work to accomplish a marital reconciliation leaves with good cause. The reason is the state's policy to encourage parties to a marriage to live together and to prevent separation. As a matter of good faith, the claimant and the spouse must intend to reunite and conduct their affairs in such a manner as to reflect that intent. Further, the fact that the claimant and his or her spouse are legally separated or within the interlocutory stage of dissolution proceedings is immaterial since neither situation is a final severance of the marital relationship. Hence, reconciliation is still a possible alternative."

In P-B-230, the Board addressed family unity concerns. Both the claimant and his wife were from Pennsylvania. They moved to California when the claimant secured employment. The wife was extremely dissatisfied with their living conditions and wanted to return to their home state. Finally the claimant's wife told him that she intended to leave California, move to Pennsylvania, and take their three minor children with her, regardless of what his desires were. The ultimatum from his wife caused the claimant to quit his employment and move to Pennsylvania to preserve the family unit. The Board compared the claimant's situation to several other nonprecedent decision cases and stated:

"In none of these cases was the claimant confronted with the ultimatum presented to the claimant herein; he could retain his employment with the result that he would be separated from his wife and children, perhaps permanently, or he could leave his employment, return with his family to their former home and thus maintain the family unity . . . . [W]e believe that the claimant, faced with the ultimatum presented to him acted as a reasonable person when he chose to preserve his marriage and the family unity."

In P-B-334, the claimant voluntarily quit her employment to accompany her husband to Wisconsin pursuant to his wishes. Neither had prospects of employment Wisconsin. The Board held that since the claimant left her job for the purpose of maintenance of the marital relationship, she left for good cause. The Board further stated, the gender of the spouse was not a controlling factor:

"It is perhaps appropriate that we observe that in the instant case if it had been the wife's decision to move to Wisconsin, and her husband quit his job to accompany her, such leaving by the husband would be for good cause. For again, in that circumstance, the leaving would be for the purpose of maintenance of the marital relationship."

The permanency of the new domicile or the identity of family's chief wage earner is immaterial to the decision of eligibility. If the decision to move was the claimant's, good cause will be dependent upon the claimant's reasons for the move. If the decision to move was the spouses, eligibility will be dependent upon the criteria outlined above.

You can apply for unemployment benefits online here (the day of your termination or after, but within 14 days):

https://eapply4ui.edd.ca.gov/

I hope the above information is helpful.

Please let me know if you have any clarifying or follow up questions as I want to ensure that you are completely satisfied with my service. Please contact me first if you are contemplating leaving me a negative rating, as I’ll be happy to continue to address your concerns until you are completely satisfied with my service.

If not, please remember to rate my answer positively so I get credit for my work. I put significant time and effort into my answers, and don’t receive anything for my work unless you rate my answer positively. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and is necessary even though you’ve made a deposit. Please also rate me highly (9-10) when you receive your customer satisfaction survey as well.

Thanks - my follow up is: I am currently on FMLA leave for the birth of our child. When should I file my claim for unemployment? If the company cannot transfer me should I resign effective the date of our move and then file my claim after my resignation is effective? Thank you!

I will tell you that...the things you have to go through to be an Expert are quite rigorous.

What Customers are Saying:

Mr. Kaplun clearly had an exceptional understanding of the issue and was able to explain it concisely. I would recommend JustAnswer to anyone. Great service that lives up to its promises!Gary B.Edmond, OK

Mr. Kaplun clearly had an exceptional understanding of the issue and was able to explain it concisely. I would recommend JustAnswer to anyone. Great service that lives up to its promises!Gary B.Edmond, OK

My Expert was fast and seemed to have the answer to my taser question at the tips of her fingers. Communication was excellent. I left feeling confident in her answer.EricRedwood City, CA

I am very pleased with JustAnswer as a place to go for divorce or criminal law knowledge and insight.
MichaelWichita, KS

PaulMJD helped me with questions I had regarding an urgent legal matter. His answers were excellent. Three H.Houston, TX

Anne was extremely helpful. Her information put me in the right direction for action that kept me legal, possible saving me a ton of money in the future. Thank you again, Anne!! ElaineAtlanta, GA

It worked great. I had the facts and I presented them to my ex-landlord and she folded and returned my deposit. The 50 bucks I spent with you solved my problem. TonyApopka, FL

Ask a California Employment Lawyer

Get a Professional Answer. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

61 California Employment Lawyers are Online Now

Type Your California Employment Law Question Here...

characters left:

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).